*Dhammahttps://www.dhamma.uk Buddha ~ Dhamma ~ Sangha ~Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:55:34 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.2https://i2.wp.com/www.dhamma.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-dharma_wheel.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1*Dhammahttps://www.dhamma.uk 3232127968581The Nobility of the Truthshttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/19/the-nobility-of-the-truths/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/19/the-nobility-of-the-truths/#respondMon, 19 Nov 2018 08:55:34 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1627by Bhikkhu Bodhi The most common and widely known formulation of the Buddha’s teaching is that which the Buddha himself …

The most common and widely known formulation of the Buddha’s teaching is that which the Buddha himself announced in the First Sermon at Benares, the formula of the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha declares that these truths convey in a nutshell all the essential information that we need to set out on the path to liberation. He says that just as the elephant’s footprint, by reason of its great size, contains the footprints of all other animals, so the Four Noble Truths, by reason of their comprehensiveness, contain within themselves all wholesome and beneficial teachings. However, while many expositors of Buddhism have devoted attention to explaining the actual content of the four truths, only rarely is any consideration given to the reason why they are designated noble truths. Yet it is just this descriptive word “noble” that reveals to us why the Buddha chose to cast his teaching into this specific format, and it is this same term that allows us to experience, even from afar, the unique flavor that pervades the entire doctrine and discipline of the Enlightened One.

The word “noble,” or ariya, is used by the Buddha to designate a particular type of person, the type of person which it is the aim of his teaching to create. In the discourses the Buddha classifies human beings into two broad categories. On one side there are the puthujjanas, the worldlings, those belonging to the multitude, whose eyes are still covered with the dust of defilements and delusion. On the other side there are the ariyans, the noble ones, the spiritual elite, who obtain this status not from birth, social station or ecclesiastical authority but from their inward nobility of character.

These two general types are not separated from each other by an impassable chasm, each confined to a tightly sealed compartment. A series of gradations can be discerned rising up from the darkest level of the blind worldling trapped in the dungeon of egotism and self-assertion, through the stage of the virtuous worldling in whom the seeds of wisdom are beginning to sprout, and further through the intermediate stages of noble disciples to the perfected individual at the apex of the entire scale of human development. This is the Arahant, the liberated one, who has absorbed the purifying vision of truth so deeply that all his defilements have been extinguished, and with them, all liability to suffering.

While the path from bondage to deliverance, from worldliness to spiritual nobility, is a graded path involving gradual practice and gradual progress, it is not a uniform continuum. Progress occurs in discrete steps, and at a certain point — the point separating the status of a worldling from that of a noble one — a break is reached which must be crossed, not by simply taking another step forward, but by making a leap, by jumping across from the near side to the further shore. This decisive event in the inner development of the practitioner, this radical leap that propels the disciple from the domain and lineage of the worldling to the domain and lineage of the noble ones, occurs precisely through the penetration of the Four Noble Truths. This discloses to us the critical reason why the four truths revealed by the Buddha are called noble truths. They are noble truths because when we have penetrated them through to the core, when we have grasped their real import and implications, we cast off the status of the worldling and acquire the status of a noble one, drawn out from the faceless crowd into the community of the Blessed One’s disciples united by a unique and unshakable vision.

Prior to the penetration of the truths, however well endowed we may be with spiritual virtues, we are not yet on secure ground. We are not immune from regression, not yet assured of deliverance, not invincible in our striving on the path. The virtues of a worldling are tenuous virtues. They may wax or they may wane, they may flourish or decline, and in correspondence with their degree of strength we may rise or fall in our movement through the cycle of becoming. When our virtues are replete we may rise upwards and dwell in bliss among the gods; when our virtues decline or our merit is exhausted we may sink again to miserable depths.

But with the penetration of the truths we leap across the gulf that separates us from the ranks of the noble ones. The eye of Dhamma has been opened, the vision of truth stands revealed, and though the decisive victory has not yet been won, the path to the final goal lies at our feet and the supreme security from bondage hovers on the horizon. One who has comprehended the truths has changed lineage, crossed over from the domain of the worldlings to the domain of the noble ones. Such a disciple is incapable of regression to the ranks of the worldling, incapable of losing the vision of truth that has flashed before his inner eye. Progress towards the final goal, the complete eradication of ignorance and craving, may be slow or rapid; it may occur easily or result from an uphill battle. But however long it may take, with whatever degree of facility one may advance, one thing is certain: such a disciple who has seen with immaculate clarity the Four Noble Truths can never slide backwards, can never lose the status of a noble one, and is bound to reach the final fruit of Arahantship in a maximum of seven lives.

The reason why the penetration of the Four Noble Truths can confer this immutable nobility of spirit is implied by the four tasks the noble truths impose on us. By taking these tasks as our challenge in life — our challenge as followers of the Enlightened One — from whatever station of development we find ourselves beginning at, we can gradually advance towards the infallible penetration of the noble ones.

The first noble truth, the truth of suffering, is to be fully understood: the task it assigns us is that of full understanding. A hallmark of the noble ones is that they do not flow along thoughtlessly with the stream of life, but endeavor to comprehend existence from within, as honestly and thoroughly as possible. For us, too, it is necessary to reflect upon the nature of our life. We must attempt to fathom the deep significance of an existence bounded on one side by birth and on the other by death, and subject in between to all the types of suffering detailed by the Buddha in his discourses.

The second noble truth, of the origin or cause of suffering, implies the task of abandonment. A noble one is such because he has initiated the process of eliminating the defilements at the root of suffering, and we too, if we aspire to reach the plane of the noble ones, must be prepared to withstand the seductive lure of the defilements. While the eradication of craving can come only with the supramundane realizations, even in the mundane course of our daily life we can learn to restrain the coarser manifestation of defilements, and by keen self-observation can gradually loosen their grip upon our hearts.

The third noble truth, the cessation of suffering, implies the task of realization. Although Nibbana, the extinction of suffering, can only be personally realized by the noble ones, the confidence we place in the Dhamma as our guideline to life shows us what we should select as our final aspiration, as our ultimate ground of value. Once we have grasped the fact that all conditioned things in the world, being impermanent and insubstantial, can never give us total satisfaction, we can then lift our aim to the unconditioned element, Nibbana the Deathless, and make that aspiration the pole around which we order our everyday choices and concerns.

Finally, the fourth noble truth, the Noble Eightfold Path, assigns us the task of development. The noble ones have reached their status by developing the eightfold path, and while only the noble ones are assured of never deviating from the path, the Buddha’s teaching gives us the meticulous instructions that we need to tread the path culminating in the plane of the noble ones. This is the path that gives birth to vision, that gives birth to knowledge, that leads to higher comprehension, enlightenment and Nibbana, the crowning attainment of nobility.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/19/the-nobility-of-the-truths/feed/01627Dhammahttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/18/dhamma-2/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/18/dhamma-2/#respondSun, 18 Nov 2018 08:44:46 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1605The Dhamma is life as we know it. If you study Dhamma then this will become apparent. Dhamma is what …

The Dhamma is life as we know it. If you study Dhamma then this will become apparent. Dhamma is what IS! There is no getting away from this fact, so the study of Dhamma is essential to understanding reality. Dhamma will lead you, eventually, to release from suffering. Dhamma will eventually lead you to peace.

Shakyamuni Buddha was the pre-eminent proponent of the current Dhamma, almost 2500 years ago and pronounced it in the most elegant and extensive way. He related it to kings and poor people, monks and lay people alike.

Mindfulness Meditation

The Dhamma demands nothing from you, the Buddha demands nothing from you, the only thing required is understanding, wisdom and a certain amount of faith in the teachings. There is no ‘god’ to believe in or be fearful of. There are no commandments to obey, although there are precepts to accept should you so wish to do so. There is just common sense and kindness. That is all. If you are human, this should be reasonably easy. If you are deviant, then you are lost. Dhamma is what is, as I have said, there is nothing else…

To understand the basics of Dhamma does take some time. It is not easy to have the rug pulled out from your sense of reality. Dhamma is harsh at times and your sense of self WILL feel attacked. This is natural, and must be expected. Please believe me, you are not alone, but the journey is well worth it. To be liberated from Samsara is to be liberated from ALL suffering, in any shape or form, and to experience the bliss of true peace.

Dhamma is the way of life. Dhamma IS life. If you come to accept life for the way it is then you are starting to understand what Dhamma is. Dhamma is comforting because it explains your problems, your troubles and your strife. It explains that all this is down to your own attitude towards life. This may be hard to understand and accept but it is true. Your life is built out of your ideas and decisions. Dhamma says that you are the author of your own misfortune… I know that is harsh but if you look at how you have reacted in the past then you will realise that it is true. That argument you had, that fight you had… could you have handled it better… yes… so the repercussions were partly down to you… you could have acted more wisely, couldn’t you?

Dhamma is for everyone. Old, young, tall, short, aggressive, peaceful. The Dhamma will improve your understanding of life and bring peace. Blessed are those who follow the Dhamma.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/18/dhamma-2/feed/01605The Search for Securityhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/07/the-search-for-security/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/07/the-search-for-security/#respondWed, 07 Nov 2018 12:11:19 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1601by Bhikkhu Bodhi It may be a truism of psychology that the desire for happiness is the most fundamental human …

It may be a truism of psychology that the desire for happiness is the most fundamental human drive, but it is important to note that this desire generally operates within the bounds set by another drive just as deep and pervasive. This other drive is the need for security. However insistent the raw itch for pleasure and gain may be, it is usually held in check by a cautious concern for our personal safety. We only feel at ease when we are sealed off from manifest danger, comfortably at home with ourselves and with our world, snugly tucked into familiar territory where everything seems friendly and dependable.

When we come across the Buddha’s teaching and begin to take that teaching seriously, we often find that it provokes in us disturbing waves of disquietude. This feeling arises from a clash — a sensed incompatibility — between the picture of the world that we hold to as the essential basis for our normal sense of security and the new perspectives on existence opened up to us by the Dhamma. We may try to shun the vistas that trouble us, we may pick and choose from the Dhamma what we like; but to the extent that we are prepared to take the teaching in earnest — on its own terms rather than on ours — we may discover that the insights which the Buddha wants to impart to us can be quite unsettling in their impact.

The first noble truth was never intended to be a comfortable truth; indeed, it is the discomforting quality of this truth that makes it noble. It tells us frankly that the routinely placid and predictable surface of our everyday lives is extremely fragile — a shared delusion with which we lull ourselves and each other into a false sense of security. Just beneath the surface, hidden from view, turbulent currents are stirring which at any time can break the surface calm. From the moment we are born we are sliding towards old age and death, susceptible to various diseases and accidents that may hasten our arrival at the appointed end. Driven by our desires we wander from life to life across the sand dunes of samsara, elated by our rises, shaken by our falls. The very stuff of our lives consists of nothing more than a conglomeration of five “heaps” of psychophysical processes, without any permanence or substance. Perhaps the Buddha’s most poignant statement on the human condition is his image of a man being swept along by a mountain torrent: he grasps for safety at the grasses along the banks only to find that they break off just as he takes hold of them.

However, though the Buddha begins by drawing our attention to the uncertainty that encompasses us even in the midst of comfort and enjoyment, he by no means ends there. The discourse on suffering is expounded, not to lead us to despair, but to awaken us from our complacent slumbers and to set us moving in the direction where our ultimate welfare can be found. Far from undercutting our need to feel secure, the Buddha’s teaching unfolds from that very same need, turning it into a sustained inquiry into what genuine security actually means.

Ordinarily, our benighted attempts to achieve security are governed by a myopic but imperious self-interest oriented around the standpoint of self. We assume that we possess a solid core of individual being, an inherently existent ego, and thus our varied plans and projects take shape as so many maneuvers to ward off threats to the self and promote its dominance in the overall scheme of things. The Buddha turns this whole point of view on its head by pointing out that anxiety is the dark twin of ego. He declares that all attempts to secure the interests of the ego necessarily arise out of clinging, and that the very act of clinging paves the way for our downfall when the object to which we hold perishes, as it must by its very nature.

The Buddha maintains that the way to true security lies precisely in the abolition of clinging. When all clinging has been uprooted, when all notions of “I” and “mine” have lost their obsessive sting, we will have no more fear, no more worry, no more anxious concern. Touched by the fluctuations of worldly events the mind remains stable, “sorrowless, stainless and secure” (Sn. 268).

While ultimate security lies only in the unconditioned, in Nibbana “the supreme security from bondage” (anuttara yogakkhema), as we wend our way through the rough terrain of our mundane lives we have available a provisional source of security that will help us deal effectively with the dangers and difficulties that beset us. This provisional security lies in firmly committing ourselves to the Dhamma as our source of solace and guidance, as our incomparable refuge. The word “dhamma” itself means that which upholds and supports. The Buddha’s teaching is called the Dhamma because it upholds those who live by it: it wards off the dangers to which we would be exposed if we were to flout it, it sustains us in our endeavor for the final good if we revere it and make it the foundation of our lives.

The Dhamma provides protection, not by any mystical blessing or downpour of saving grace, but by indicating the sure and certain guidelines that enable us to protect ourselves. Beneath the apparent randomness of visible events there runs an invisible but indomitable law which ensures that all goodness finds its due recompense. To act counter to this law is to invite disaster. To act in harmony with it is to tap its reserves of energy, to yoke them to one’s spiritual growth, and to make oneself a channel of help for others who likewise roam in search of a refuge.

The essential counsel that the Buddha gives us to secure our self-protection is to shun all evil, to practice the good, and to purify our minds. By the pursuit of non-violence, honesty, righteousness and truth we weave around ourselves an impenetrable net of virtue that ensures our well being even in the midst of violence and commotion. By cultivating the good we sow the seeds of wholesome qualities that will come to maturity as we continue on our path throughout the samsaric journey. And by purifying our minds of greed, hatred and delusion by mindfulness and diligent effort we will find for ourselves an island that no flood can overwhelm — the island of the Deathless.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/07/the-search-for-security/feed/01601The Balanced Wayhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/06/the-balanced-way/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/06/the-balanced-way/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 11:22:55 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1594by Bhikkhu Bodhi Like a bird in flight borne by its two wings, the practice of Dhamma is sustained by …

Like a bird in flight borne by its two wings, the practice of Dhamma is sustained by two contrasting qualities whose balanced development is essential to straight and steady progress. These two qualities are renunciation and compassion. As a doctrine of renunciation the Dhamma points out that the path to liberation is a personal course of training that centers on the gradual control and mastery of desire, the root cause of suffering. As a teaching of compassion the Dhamma bids us to avoid harming others, to act for their welfare, and to help realize the Buddha’s own great resolve to offer the world the way to the Deathless.

Considered in isolation, renunciation and compassion have inverse logics that at times seem to point us in opposite directions. The one steers us to greater solitude aimed at personal purification, the other to increased involvement with others issuing in beneficent action. Yet, despite their differences, renunciation and compassion nurture each other in dynamic interplay throughout the practice of the path, from its elementary steps of moral discipline to its culmination in liberating wisdom. The synthesis of the two, their balanced fusion, is expressed most perfectly in the figure of the Fully Enlightened One, who is at once the embodiment of complete renunciation and of all-embracing compassion.

Both renunciation and compassion share a common root in the encounter with suffering. The one represents our response to suffering confronted in our own individual experience, the other our response to suffering witnessed in the lives of others. Our spontaneous reactions, however, are only the seeds of these higher qualities, not their substance. To acquire the capacity to sustain our practice of Dhamma, renunciation and compassion must be methodically cultivated, and this requires an ongoing process of reflection which transmutes our initial stirrings into full-fledged spiritual virtues.

The framework within which this reflection is to be exercised is the teaching of the Four Noble Truths, which thus provides the common doctrinal matrix for both renunciation and compassion. Renunciation develops out of our innate urge to avoid suffering and pain. But whereas this urge, prior to reflection, leads to an anxious withdrawal from particular situations perceived as personally threatening, reflection reveals the basic danger to lie in our existential situation itself — in being bound by ignorance and craving to a world which is inherently fearsome, deceptive and unreliable. Thence the governing motive behind the act of renunciation is the longing for spiritual freedom, coupled with the recognition that self-purification is an inward task most easily accomplished when we distance ourselves from the outer circumstances that nourish our unwholesome tendencies.

Compassion develops out of our spontaneous feelings of sympathy with others. However, as a spiritual virtue compassion cannot be equated with a sentimental effusion of emotion, nor does it necessarily imply a dictum to lose oneself in altruistic activity. Though compassion surely includes emotional empathy and often does express itself in action, it comes to full maturity only when guided by wisdom and tempered by detachment. Wisdom enables us to see beyond the adventitious misfortunes with which living beings may be temporarily afflicted to the deep and hidden dimensions of suffering inseparable from conditioned existence. As a profound and comprehensive understanding of the Four Noble Truths, wisdom discloses to us the wide range, diverse gradations, and subtle roots of the suffering to which our fellow beings are enmeshed, as well as the means to lead them to irreversible release from suffering. Thence the directives of spontaneous sympathy and mature compassion are often contradictory, and only the latter are fully trustworthy as guides to beneficent action effective in the highest degree. Though often the judicious exercise of compassion will require us to act or speak up, sometimes it may well enjoin us to retreat into silence and solitude as the course most conducive to the long-range good of others as well as of ourselves.

In our attempt to follow the Dhamma, one or the other of these twin cardinal virtues will have to be given prominence, depending on our temperament and circumstances. However, for monk and householder alike, success in developing the path requires that both receive due attention and that deficiencies in either gradually be remedied. Over time we will find that the two, though tending in different directions, eventually are mutually reinforcing. Compassion impels us towards greater renunciation, as we see how our own greed and attachment make us a danger to others. And renunciation impels us towards greater compassion, since the relinquishing of craving enables us to exchange the narrow perspectives of the ego for the wider perspectives of a mind of boundless sympathy. Held together in this mutually strengthening tension, renunciation and compassion contribute to the wholesome balance of the Buddhist path and to the completeness of its final fruit.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/06/the-balanced-way/feed/01594The Case for Studyhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/05/the-case-for-study/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/05/the-case-for-study/#respondMon, 05 Nov 2018 07:19:09 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1587by Bhikkhu Bodhi The recent upsurge of interest in Buddhism, both East and West, has been marked by a vigorous …

The recent upsurge of interest in Buddhism, both East and West, has been marked by a vigorous practical orientation and a drive to discover the peace and freedom to which the practice of Dhamma leads. This zeal for practice, however, has often been accompanied by another trait which may not be so fruitful, namely, a tendency to neglect or even belittle the methodical study of the Buddha’s teachings. The arguments offered in defense of this attitude have already become familiar currency among us. It is said, for example, that study is concerned with words and concepts, not with realities; that it leads only to learning, not to wisdom; that it can change only our ideas but fails to touch us at the deeper levels of our lives. To clinch the case the testimony of the Buddha himself is enlisted, with his famous remarks that to learn much without practicing is like counting the cows of others or like carrying a raft on one’s head instead of using it to cross the stream.

This contention, to be sure, has its aspect of truth, but also suffers from a one-sided emphasis which may actually thwart rather than aid our progress on the Buddhist path. It is certainly true that learning without practice is fruitless, but the other side of the issue also should be considered. Should a person gather cows if he knows nothing about how to take care of them? Should he try to cross a rough and dangerous river without knowing how to operate a raft? The Buddha himself insisted that his followers learn and transmit the Dhamma both in the letter and the spirit, but rather than appealing to traditional formulations, let us inquire ourselves into the value and function of Dhamma study.

The point at issue, it must be stressed, is not study as an academic discipline or the accumulation of a wealth of learning, but the acquisition of a sound and solid working knowledge of the basic Buddhist doctrines. Now to see why this is so essential, we must recall that the entire practice of the proper Buddhist path develops out of the act through which we enter the path — the going for refuge to the Triple Gem. If we have taken this step honestly, with correct motivation, it implies that we have acknowledged our need for spiritual guidance and have entrusted ourselves to the Buddha as our guide and to his teaching as our vehicle of guidance. By taking refuge in the Dhamma we accept not merely a technique of meditation that we can use at liberty for our own self-appointed purposes, but a profound and comprehensive teaching on the true nature of the human condition, a teaching designed to awaken in us a perception of this truth as the means for reaching the full and final end of suffering. The liberation offered by the Dhamma comes, not from simply practicing meditation in the context of our own preconceptions and desires, but from practicing upon the groundwork of the right understanding and right intentions communicated to us by the Buddha.

This cognitive character of the Buddhist path elevates doctrinal study and intellectual inquiry to a position of great importance. Though the knowledge that frees the mind from bondage emerges only from intuitive insight and not from a mass of doctrinal facts, genuine insight always develops on the basis of a preliminary conceptual grasp of the basic principles essential to right understanding, in the absence of which its growth will inevitably be obstructed. The study and systematic reflection through which we arrive at this preparatory right view necessarily involve concepts and ideas. But before we hasten to dismiss Dhamma study as being therefore only a worthless tangle of verbiage, let us consider that concepts and ideas are our indispensable tools of understanding and communication. Concepts, however, can be valid and invalid tools of understanding; ideas can be fruitful or useless, capable of bringing immense benefit or of entailing enormous harm. The object of studying the Dhamma as part of our spiritual quest is to learn to comprehend our experience correctly: to be able to distinguish the valid from the invalid, the true from the false, the wholesome from the unwholesome.

It is only by making a thorough and careful investigation that we will be in a position to reject what is detrimental to our growth and to apply ourselves with confidence to cultivating what is truly beneficial. Without having reached this preliminary conceptual clarification, without having succeeded in “straightening out our views,” there can indeed be the earnest practice of Buddhist meditation techniques, but there will not be the practice of the meditation pertaining to the integral Noble Eightfold Path. And while such free-based meditation may bring its practitioners the mundane benefits of greater calm, awareness and equanimity, lacking the guidance of right view and the driving power of right motivation, it is questionable whether it can lead to the penetrative realization of the Dhamma, or to its final goal, the complete cessation of suffering.

It is almost impossible to give a single word of counsel on the subject of study applicable to all followers of the Dhamma. Needs and interests vary so greatly from one person to another that each will have to strike the balance between study and practice that suits his or her own disposition. But without hesitation it can be said that all who earnestly endeavor to live by the Buddha’s teaching will find their practice strengthened by the methodical study of his Dhamma. Such an undertaking, of course, will not be easy, but it is just through facing and surmounting the challenges we meet that our understanding will ripen and mature in the higher wisdom.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/11/05/the-case-for-study/feed/01587The Dhamma of Cats!https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/10/15/the-dhamma-of-cats/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/10/15/the-dhamma-of-cats/#respondMon, 15 Oct 2018 14:39:41 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1576The Dhamma of Cats: Cats are a great indicator of various aspects of the Dhamma. Don’t get me wrong, dogs …

]]>The Dhamma of Cats: Cats are a great indicator of various aspects of the Dhamma. Don’t get me wrong, dogs are just as good,; I just happen to own cats.

There are various indicators of the human predicament that are shown by cats. Craving/desire/need for certain things are many of them. Cats crave attention. They demand affection. Now most of us will probably deny that need at our age; but remember back to your teenage years… how demanding of affection were you then? Cats slink around your legs, paw at your knees, wake you in the middle of the night, all for a small show of love. Humans crave love, whether they be 1 or 100. Craving love is a natural condition of the human existence, but one that must be overcome, if we are to reach Nibbana. We have to realise this task, so that we are no longer attached to the love of others, before we can move forward.

Cats also demand/crave a regular supply of food, as do we all. Now food is a necessity for surviving on this plain of existence so craving food in a wise manner is not bad. Being a glutton is. Eat what you need to eat to maintain your body in a healthy condition and you do no wrong. Eat for the sake of eating and you are on the wrong side of Kamma; it will lead to Samsara… suffering.

Cats also need clearing up after. They deficate, urinate, vomit… as do we all. These are the necessary duties of a cat owner to maintain a healthy living environment for a cat. So… if you ‘own’ a cat, then you can expect to have to deal with these unpleasant duties; just as you have to deal with your own bodily needs. Samsara is an enherent part of daily life, but it is our attachment to it that causes suffering, discomfort or sadness. Dealing with cat faeces is not pleasant but it is necessary if you wish to ‘own’ a cat.

Cats also demand treatment for disease, flea infections, etc… Again, we all need treatment for disease, infection and infestation at times. Medical treatment is a necessary requirement of survivial in this plain of existence, and thankfully we have plenty of experienced practitioners who can administer to our bodily or mental needs. Vets are the animal equivolent of our GP’s, passing out treatments for various ailments, but those treatments do not progress us, or them, toward Nibbana. Nibanna is beyond the reach of most of us in this lifetime, yet the pursuit of it is necessary if we are to attain it in a future lifetime.

Cats also show aggression; hissing and spitting, when they feel threatened. That is exactly how we react when threatened. Yet, is that reaction neccessary? Maybe a calmer approach would defuse the situation. Acting with aggression is the instinctive approach… the base animal approach, but reacting with wise compassion may well defuse the entire situation, instead of getting you a night in the police cells!

Cats also demand or require recreation time. A chance to play with their ‘owner’, or a ball, a plush mouse, even just a piece of cardboard. We all need recreation time, a chance to relax and enjoy the company of a loved one, but, again, craving that state leads to suffering… to Samsara.

So, cats can be an educator of what Samsara demands of us all. Samsara demands craving, desire, pain, discomfort and suffering; at the very least. Yet we have all craved to come back here for the sake of sensual pleasure. We are all here because we chose to be here through previous action. I know many of you will deny this, that is natural, but at the end of the day, you are here because that was your choice. There is no getting away from it. So… choose wisely this time… maybe your next adventure will be in the God realms!!!

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/10/15/the-dhamma-of-cats/feed/01576The Dhamma of Forgivenesshttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/10/the-dhamma-of-forgiveness/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/10/the-dhamma-of-forgiveness/#respondSun, 10 Jun 2018 07:19:06 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1543Forgiving can be VERY difficult at the best of times, but how do you forgive the person who murdered your …

]]>Forgiving can be VERY difficult at the best of times, but how do you forgive the person who murdered your child? How do you forgive the person who imprisoned someone for 20 years as a sex slave? How do you forgive a man who has raped children? These are all very emotive and sensitive questions that need answering in the most delicate manner possible.

Human nature is a varied and wild beast. We think we are above the animals because of our intellect, but we are only above them by one level of existence. We still have to deal with our base instincts, our base emotions, our base attitudes to life in general.

The human realm is still one of Dukkha. We have to battle every day with the suffering caused by our emotions and attachments. These are all left-overs from our animal ancestry, and they take a hell of a lot of training to get them under control. You are not ‘weak’ if you have trouble doing so, you are merely human.

Even the God realm suffers! They have their emotions to deal with. The Divas are just the same. They crave certain sensual pleasures just as we do, so we are not alone. They have emotions to deal with, you only have to look at the Christian God to see wrath, anger, jealousy to name but a few. To forgive someone who has done us a serious wrong is a blessing both for yourself and for the perpetrator of the crime. It may very well take years for you to be able to achieve that state but when you do, the relief is unfathomable. It releases you from anger, hatred, guilt and a host of other emotions. Forgiveness is good for YOU, the other party may benefit a little if you tell them, but the main effect will be on you!

However, you should not beat yourself up about it if you cannot forgive. We are all human, and we are all on different points of the path to liberation. If you really cannot forgive someone, then accept that fact and move on to other practices. Metta meditation would be a good start. Look it up on Google or YouTube, there is plenty of instruction out there. It is the meditative practice of loving-kindness. It engenders a sense of kindness and compassion to ALL sentient beings, so it will help with any forgiveness issues you may be dealing with.

At the end of the day, forgiveness is a very personal issue and not an easy one to solve, so practice, practice and also practice. You will be better off if you succeed so it is worth trying.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/10/the-dhamma-of-forgiveness/feed/01543The Dhamma of Ownership and Possessionhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/01/the-dhamma-of-ownership-and-possession/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/01/the-dhamma-of-ownership-and-possession/#respondFri, 01 Jun 2018 12:43:26 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1542To own something is, technically, impossible. Ownership is merely a legal concept used to decide who has the right to …

]]>To own something is, technically, impossible. Ownership is merely a legal concept used to decide who has the right to possess an item or thing.

Possession is apparent and true. I possess this tablet I am writing this post on. Legally I own it, but all I really do is possess it. If someone breaks in to my flat an steals my tablet, I will no longer possess it, but the thief will. Should the thief be caught, then the courts would decide who, out of the two of us, has the right to possess the item, or ‘own’ it.

If I were to truly own this tablet then I would be able to take the item with me when I pass on, but in reality we only ever really possess things, we ‘own’ nothing.

Take money for example. Do you really own the money in your bank account? All your bank account says is that there are so many pounds and pence in it. they are just 1’s and 0’s recorded on a hard-drive in a server out there somewhere. There are no 5 pound notes sitting in a vault with your name on them. Do you really own those 1’s and 0’s? If the server crashes and those 1’s and 0’s disappear, the bank will say you have nothing. Truthfully you do not even possess those 1’s and 0’s because you cannot hold them in your hand can you?

This may seem a little silly as an example, but when you get down to it, how CAN you own or possess something that cannot even be seen with the naked eye. You have to take it on trust that if you go to the bank and ask for the money that they say you have, that you would actually be given it, and we all know what happened with Northern Rock in the financial crash. They DIDN’T have the money to give to people even though the accounts of the customers said they did have it. So… do you possess, or ‘own’, your money?

You save up for retirement over 30 or 40 years only to find that either the Government or the company has rifled the accounts and your pension pot is next to worthless.

Also, if you have bought a ‘freehold’ house, you say you own the land that comes with the building. How can anyone own part of the planet? It was here several billion years before you were born, and will be here several billion years after you die, so how can you say you ‘own’ the land your house is on? Yes, the government and legal system says you do, but, again, it is just legal jargon for the sake of convenience. You may possess the house and land for the duration you live there because you have the keys to the front door, but you never truly own the land. No one does.

I could go on but I hope you get the idea. Ownership and possession are different matters, one is purely a legal matter, the other is fact for as long as you actually have the item in your hands.

And none of what you think you own or possess can be taken with you into your next incarnation!

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/06/01/the-dhamma-of-ownership-and-possession/feed/01542Just What is Dhamma?https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/02/23/just-what-is-dhamma/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/02/23/just-what-is-dhamma/#respondFri, 23 Feb 2018 13:40:50 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1535If you read enough Buddhist literature you will realise there is not just one Dhamma. The Dhamma that the Buddha …

If you read enough Buddhist literature you will realise there is not just one Dhamma. The Dhamma that the Buddha taught is not the only one! This can come as a shock to some people but it need not be that way. Everything, from the smallest atomic particle, to the entire universe has its own Dhamma. Every individual person on our planet has their own Dhamma. The roses in you garden, the aphids that attack them and the treatment for those aphids that you use have their own Dhamma. Even your settee has its own Dhamma.

How can this be so?

Dhamma basically means “the way things are”. It’s as simple as that. The Buddha taught Dhamma on a global and cosmic scale, as well as on the day-to-day life scale. He taught how the world works, how suffering is the nature of this world in which we live, and how to escape from that suffering. That is his Dhamma. He taught the Dhamma of this three-dimensional reality. He taught its impermanence, it’s unsatisfactorinss and it’s escape. If we wish to escape suffering, then we best follow his teachings, otherwise we will only end up back here, or worse, if we do not.

Dhamma

Dhamma is how things are. It is their pure nature, it is their fundamental reality. Dhamma explains exactly what makes up the thing in question. Tied in with the concept of Dependent Origination, which is another fundamental concept, you can, with enough practice, understand the true nature of anything you put your mind to. The two concepts may seem difficult to understand at first glance, and I will cover Dependent Origination in a future post, but once you have grasped them, nature falls into place quite easily.

Dhamma does not have to be difficult. At it’s essence, it is incredibly simple, which is why the ‘Breath Meditation’ practice is so simple. Simple practices lead to the realisation of simple concepts. They lead to those ‘Ah! That’s how it is!’ moments. Those moments are another step closer to final liberation.

A friend of mine once told me she had been taught a meditative technique that involved watching a pebble grow. Now I never quite got that at the time, but it would be a wonderful practice now. To actually see a pebble grow does not mean you see it get bigger, but it means you see it’s nature and reality as it really is, thus the pebble becomes more than your mind thought it to be in the first place. The pebble is, basically, a pebble, but your understanding of that pebbles nature grows over time. You could use your settee, oven, fridge, best mate or the leader of your country as the subject of your meditation, but a pebble is nice and simple. It will yield the same results thus negating any emotional complications in your practice.

End Notes

As I said earlier, Dhamma explains the way things are. Atoms do what they do, cells do what they do, people do what they do, even nations do what they do. The world exists in the only way it can because of the nature of this three-dimensional reality. The human rebirth leads us to do what we do, whomever we are, and thus suffering takes place. Kamma acts in the way it needs to, whether good or bad, and 99% of the time no-one has a clue that this is the cause of their situation. To escape this round of rebirth and suffering one needs to follow the Buddha’s teachings. It may not happen in this lifetime, or the next, but if you start practicing now, then you have taken the first steps on the road to freedom.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/02/23/just-what-is-dhamma/feed/01535The Dhamma of Meditationhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-meditation/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-meditation/#respondTue, 30 Jan 2018 15:03:33 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1521It is a mistake to think that being Buddhist means you must meditate. In fact the Buddha mainly kept meditation …

It is a mistake to think that being Buddhist means you must meditate. In fact the Buddha mainly kept meditation instruction for his closest followers and monks. He very rarely taught meditation to lay followers.

This wasn’t because he thought they would not understand, or not benefit from the pratices, it was because he knew that they had too many wordly concerns to be able to put in enough time for meditation to have it’s desired effects.

The Buddha taught Right Living to lay people, villagers and the like. Compassion, loving kindness, correct methods for resolving disputes. These are all genuine Buddhist practices that benefit all who practice them and all those around them. Right livelyhood is a big one. Earn your living honestly and with care. Dishonesty leads to suffering, Dukkha, for all involved. The dishonest person may not seem to suffer immediately, but they will, either in their current lifetime or a future one.

Causing no harm to any sentient being is also another important teaching for the lay observer. All sentient beings suffer in some way or another, and deserve our compassion and care. This reminds me of the Wiccan Rede. “An it harm none, do what thou wilt”. It may seem to be a licence to do what you want, but you just try living your life without harming anything at all! It is far more difficult (almost impossible) than you may think.

So, you can definitely be Buddhist and not meditate. Don’t get me wrong, meditation leads you along the path far more quickly than if you do not meditate, but you do not have to, to be a Buddhist. Just try to follow the Five Precepts of the lay follower, and you will be doing very well.

At the end of the day, those 5 precepts are no too demanding. Be honest, be sober, don’t put it about too much and don’t spread gossip. The main one is do no harm to living beings, which is why many Buddhists choose to be vegetarian, but the Buddha never taught vegetarianism, and he often ate meat himself, so that is purely a lifestyle choice should you wish to persue it.

The five precepts are an excellent start on your Buddhist path. Mindfulness and Metta meditation can come later should you so wish, but it is not necessary, nor is it written in stone. Basically the requirements are to be honest, nice, responsible and caring! No bad thing if everyone were to abide by it.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-meditation/feed/01521The Dhamma of Compassionhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-compassion/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-compassion/#respondTue, 30 Jan 2018 12:03:06 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1515The Dhamma of Compassion: Compassion is defined as “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” In …

Compassion is defined as “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.”

In Buddhism we are taught to practice engendering compassion for ALL sentient beings. This means compassion for ants and slugs, as well as your family and friends. Even your greatest rivals, dictators, Trump and Blare, deserve our compassion. They all suffer as we do. They, especially animals and the likes of Trump and Blare, are ignorant of the Dhamma, they are ignorant of the effects their actions have, they are ignorant of the suffering they cause to other sentient beings. Even Theresa May deserves compassion although she is trying to destroy the NHS. She is causing untold suffering to millions, yet she is totally ignorant of the kammic repercussions she can expect; therefore she deserves our compassion.

Compassion can also mean saying ‘no’ to someone. It does not mean we have to bend over backwards to give everything we can to someone. Sometimes the greatest love you can show an individual is the ability to say ‘no more’. It hands responsibility for their predicament back into their own hands and helps make them a stronger and more responsible individual. Saying ‘no’ is not a bad thing, in the right context.

Many people have difficulty with the concept of universal compassion, believing that certain individuls do not deserve it, but this is a fallacy. We have all already been where those individuals are now in past lives. We have, and still do, deserve compassion. It is our universal ignorance of the Dhamma, and the kammic repercussions, that almost demands compassion should be shown. Care for our fellow-man and all other sentient beings is a must, no matter what level they are at, tramp or king, slug or elephant. We all deserve compassion.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2018/01/30/the-dhamma-of-compassion/feed/01515Dhammapada Verse 117https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/12/06/dhammapada-verse-117/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/12/06/dhammapada-verse-117/#respondWed, 06 Dec 2017 15:42:24 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1499“Dhammapada v. 117. Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find …

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/12/06/dhammapada-verse-117/feed/01499Free Dhammahttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/14/free-dhamma/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/14/free-dhamma/#respondTue, 14 Nov 2017 15:13:31 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1474Free Dhamma is the best Dhamma, especially when it is good Dhamma and I cannot express my gratitude enough for …

Free Dhamma is the best Dhamma, especially when it is good Dhamma and I cannot express my gratitude enough for the service that Forest Sangha Publications does for the Thai Forest tradition in particular, and the Buddhist faith in general. They are a publishing house that produces copious numbers of books and pamphlets on the Thai Forest tradition of the Ven. Ajahn Chah and his disciples. The quality and amount of information available is staggering considering you do not have to pay a penny for any of it. They obviously accept donations but they are not expected nor demanded.

Many of Ajahn Chah’s disciples have produced documents that can be ordered for free as well as translations of many of Ajahn Chah’s own teachings. I highly recommend you spend some time going through the library of available documents and ordering a few. I think they have a limit of three books per month, but there is nothing stopping you from ordering more once your first order arrives.

The series of books that form a collection of talks and teachings by Luang Por Sumedho are of particular interest as they cover the Venerable Ajahn’s career from meeting Ajahn Chah, to his retirement a couple of years ago.

Amaravati Monastery and Abhayagiri Monastery are the main monasteries that the monks and nuns come from who have contributed to the material that is available, but there are contributions from others at satellite monasteries. Whichever author you go for, I am sure you will be in for a treat. This is all Dhamma at it’s best, and it is aimed at the lay disciple primarily, so you do not need a PhD in Buddhist philosophy to understand what they are on about.

Please visit, please order and please donate. Your path to liberation will be made just that bit easier if you do.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/14/free-dhamma/feed/01474Depressionhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/02/depression/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/02/depression/#respondThu, 02 Nov 2017 13:41:06 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1461Depression… few speak of it and even fewer know anything about it. For me, Buddhism is the answer. The Buddha …

Depression… few speak of it and even fewer know anything about it. For me, Buddhism is the answer. The Buddha explains how the mind works and why it works the way it does. Depression can destroy your life and the lives of those closest to you yet the Buddha has the answers for those who care to investigate.

Admitting you have depression is the first, and most important step you must take. It is a difficult one to be sure. Admitting you need help is incredibly difficult, maybe even more so if you are male. Admitting that your mind is messed up and out of control is even more intimidating. Being prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics can be frightening, especially when you realise you may be on them for years. But the Buddha does have the answers, and the meditation practices he taught definitely have tangible benefits. I know… I use them.I have dealt with depression and anxiety for the last 7 years. I also had an episode back in the 1990’s that lasted about 4 years. I have been on high doses of various medications for those 7 years but nothing has helped quite so much since I took up reasonably regular practice of simple Breath Meditation. I am calmer, I am more at peace and my mind is clearer. I am able to take on situations that would have tipped me over the edge a year ago. I have been able to take some of the pressure off my partner with the day-to-day running of the flat. All-in-all Breath Meditation has been the best thing for me since I succumbed to depression all those years ago.

The mind, in its purest form, is basically at peace. With no sensory input, there is no disruption to this peace. It is only sensory input that upsets the apple cart, and with todays current media storm of sensory overload, 24 hours a day, it is hardly surprising that there is also an increase in mental disorder. We cannot (unless we become a hermit) escape the capitalist drive to sell, sell, sell! Social networking has hooked the race into the internet in every way possible to the point that I often see parents walking down the road, face buried in Facebook or Twitter, whilst their child is screaming for attention in their buggy. It is a horribly saddening situation. Those children are going to grow up feeling unloved and unappreciated. They will become the dispossessed in future years and probably end up in prison at some point, all because their parents thought more of AppChat and Facebook than they did of them.

Mindfulness

Taking 10 or 15 minutes out of the media maelstrom and finding yourself again, maybe once or twice a day, will make you a better, more balanced person. You will find that you actually enjoy life more. You will have more interest in those around you, and you may even learn to put your phone down for five minutes without panicking.

I have found that I have lost interest in the more gory horror movies. I find myself drawn more to life affirming entertainment, with less violence and less mindless chatter. I have more time for the garden, I enjoy cooking more and I find my thoughts going more towards what I can do for my family than what they could do for me.

Don’t get me wrong, Breath Meditation is not a cure-all. It will not solve all your life’s troubles, but it WILL make a difference if you spend some time with it. It is called a practice because that is exactly what it is. You practice it. It can take a life time to become proficient but that does not mean you will not gain almost immediate benefit. Patience is the key-word for meditation, and that patience will pay-off. Take my word for it.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/11/01/unethical-behavior/feed/01458A Conundrumhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/23/a-conundrum/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/23/a-conundrum/#respondMon, 23 Oct 2017 12:24:07 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1446I find myself in a conundrum. What to write, what to say, what Sutta to quote or provide for download. …

]]>I find myself in a conundrum. What to write, what to say, what Sutta to quote or provide for download. My illness has forced me to leave this site for too long and I do not know where to begin again. I wish to continue but I have lost the momentum. This is something I must meditate on over the coming days. Part of the problem is the medication I am on affects my memory, so all the grandiose plans I had a month or two back have disappeared completely. I am, and always have been hopeless at taking notes. I use this widget on my tablet and that widget on my laptop, but half the problem I have always had is remembering to note down the ideas I get.

I think I would like to expand on the Sutta library. When all is said and done, it is pretty sparse, so I will be delving into my books to see what gems I may be able to publish (copyright free of course). But until I have done so, this site will probably remain somewhat dormant.

I would like to highlight the aggregates and the perfections. They are both pertinent to the layman and something we can, and should, all work on. Understanding the aggregates, and practicing the perfections will lead anyone to a calmer, more loving and caring existence. Something the world desperately needs. Compassion and “loving-kindness” are in short supply. The governments of the world seem completely devoid of such noble qualities, and a ground-swell of humanity equipped with such attributes would be no bad thing at all.

As the current Dalai Lama has stated in the past, ‘Peace’ is my religion, and it should be everybody’s. Extremism of any kind, whether religious or political has no place in this 21st Century world. We should be way beyond such archaic and barbaric practices. Children suffer and die from malnutrition just because their country does not have stocks of oil to export. Families are executed because they will not follow the enforced religion in their part of the world. Nuclear bombardment is a bargaining chip between nations.

Sometimes I think humanity, or at least our leaders, have not learnt a thing over the last 2000 years. War and oppression solve nothing, all they do is create more Dukkha for those at the receiving end of their actions. Any cast, creed or race just want to be able to give shelter, warmth and food for their loved ones, yet this is denied for so many, by so few, just for the sake of greed and power. Shame on those in power, and shame on those who support their actions. At least with Kamma, they will, at some point, experience the come back of their desires and actions. As will we all.

I apologize for the somewhat political nature of this post, it is rare that I feel like venting, but they do say you need to get things off your chest once in a while. I hope normal service will be resumed in the next week or two.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/23/a-conundrum/feed/01446Apologieshttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/16/apologies/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/16/apologies/#respondMon, 16 Oct 2017 13:56:24 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1438My apologies for the recent lack of posts and updates, I was seriously ill last month and am currently convalescing. …

]]>My apologies for the recent lack of posts and updates, I was seriously ill last month and am currently convalescing. I plan to begin adding material again sometime next month, but until then, be well, be at peace, and be free from fear.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/10/16/apologies/feed/01438Why Theravada Buddhism is my Path.https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/13/why-theravada-buddhism-is-my-path/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/13/why-theravada-buddhism-is-my-path/#respondWed, 13 Sep 2017 15:01:58 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1359I came to Theravada Buddhism very slowly. Over the last 25 years or so I have investigated Wicca, the occult Western …

I came to Theravada Buddhism very slowly. Over the last 25 years or so I have investigated Wicca, the occult Western Tradition (The Golden Dawn etc.), I have investigated Aleister Crowley‘s Thelema, I have investigated Christianity quite heavily in many of its guises (both Protestant and Catholic), and I had a brief, yet wholly unproductive flirtation with Islam. I must admit the Koran, in English, is painfully unreadable but maybe that is just me.

Reiki

Reiki

For some reason I never considered Buddhism as an avenue to look into until I came across the Japanese complementary therapy known as Reiki. Back in 2010 I was made redundant whilst diagnosed with severe depression and stress anxiety. Being made redundant did those conditions no favours and the medication I am on did not seem to be working too well so I started looking at the alternative market for something to try. My investigations lead me to Reiki. It is a Japanese form of hands on energy therapy that can be used to aid in the healing of almost anything. What surprised me was the founder, Mikao Usui, had Buddhist training and had used Buddhist techniques in developing his methods of assisting in the healing of various ills, including mental problems.

Rather than pay out for 6 to 8 sessions with a Reiki healer, I decided it would actually be cheaper to get trained myself, so here I am, a fully qualified Reiki Master (my lineage is available upon reasonable request). I must admit, Reiki works! It really does help.

Mikao Usui

Like I said, I believe Mikao Usui used certain Buddhist training in the development of his therapy, so this piqued my interest and I started to look into what Buddhism was all about, aside from all the Vippassana meditation schools and Mindfulness training schools that have sprung up in the West. I wanted to know the nitty-gritty of Buddhism; the hard-core stuff. If I investigate anything; I want to know it from its beginnings, that is just the way I am built.

The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama

Because of the influence that the Dalai Lama has had in the West over the last 40-50 years or so, I naturally had a ready supply of Tibetan Buddhist books to read, but something about it all, basically the Mahayana tradition, tugged at my suspicion and I wasn’t wholly convinced that it was the branch of Buddhism I needed to follow.

There were too many rituals, Gods, Devas, and the like that seemed to take up a lot of your time and not working on your own mind. There are ‘secret’ practices and ’empowerments’ you have to go through if you are to progress on their respective paths. In Tibet, there are four main schools of thought and they all have their own take on the Buddha’s teachings and what is required to advance toward Nibbana. Maybe I am wrong but that is the impression I got. I have read several of the Dalai Lama‘s books and they are brilliant. He is clear and lucid in his explanations and I would heartily recommend them to anyone interested in the Buddhist faith, but for me, something was still missing. Something was not quite right. And that ‘something’ was the Pali Cannon, the Suttas themselves. So much of Tibetan Buddhism relies on the commentaries written by the likes of Nagarjuna and Milarepa that they seem to have lost sight of the actual words the Buddha spoke. Maybe I am wrong again in this aspect, but that is the impression I got.

Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

And so I came to Theravada Buddhism. The most ancient Buddhist practice currently active, and the closest it is believed to how the ancients used to practice when the Buddha walked this earth. They pay close attention to the Sutta Pitaka. They pay close attention to the Vinaya Pitaka as well, the Buddhist Monastic code. Study and meditation play a significant part in daily practice for the monks and nuns of a Theravada Monastery. It is this devotion to the word of the Buddha that speaks to me. He was, after all, the Awakened One.

Sources of Dhamma

Much literature can be gained from those sources because they are given freely as a gift of Dana. Dana is giving of something without any expectation for something in return. Charity at it’s grass roots, and as the Lord Buddha has said ‘The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts’.

Both institutions accept monetary donations through their websites, so if you feel you have benefited from the Dhamma they have sent you, then I heartily recommend that you donate at least something, even if it is just $1 or £1, they will be most grateful and you will earn ‘merit’ in doing so.

God’s, Deva’s and Demons

Theravada Buddhism is not for everybody, just like any other faith or practice. I do not believe Buddhism to be a ‘religion’ per se, because there is no overall ‘deity’ that you have to follow and obey. Certainly their are ‘gods’, ‘devas’ and ‘demons’ that exist, much the same as the ‘gods’, ‘angels’ and ‘demons’ in the Christian faith (the Jewish/Christian/Islamic God admits that there are other gods when Jehovah commands “Though shalt have no other God but Me”, which, logically, implies there are other Gods), but the Buddhist gods do not command worship, and, to be honest, they are not worthy of worship. Gods and Devas are just as prone to the frailties of emotional reaction as we are. They have not yet escaped Samsara so they are still on the path that you and I find ourselves on. You only have to look at the Christian god to realise how self serving, jealous and violent he can be; all of those being human traits, and even sins according to Jehovah. Double standards anyone?

Monkey

The Noble Eightfold Path is the only exit from the round of rebirth and death (Samsara). The Buddha rediscovered it 2400-2500 years ago, and the scribes of those times have left a priceless treasure in the form of the Pali Cannon for us to learn from, and practice. If you were to be presented with the entire Pali Cannon, translated into English, you would be overwhelmed. There is an enormous amount of material available, yet you do not need to know, nor read it all, to start practicing. There is an English saying that goes something like this; “Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey”. Quite why you want to catch a monkey I do not know, but slowly is the method to approach the Dhamma; and so it would seem, if you want to catch a monkey, it is the same approach that is needed.

Conclusion

So that is pretty much how I ended up as a practicing Theravada Buddhist. There are still aspects of Aleister Crowley’s Thelema that I believe in. They tend to be the philosophical and psychological aspects and not the Ritual Magick aspects of his teachings, but in those teachings there is little to be scared of if you have your head screwed on correctly.

Lotus Flower

I have a small shrine to the Buddha in my living room that I tidy up daily after our cats have run amuck all over it. I practice the Mindfulness of Breathing as often as I can throughout the day, and I read the Suttas as often as my brain allows me to. As a beginner, I believe I am doing well.

Baby Steps

This is all you need to do to start your practice. Start small… start slow. ‘Nibbana or Bust!’ is not the order of the day because you WILL fail. Nibbana is the goal, but you have spent millennia in the sea of Samsara, so to expect an instant exit is unrealistic at it’s best. If you have a monastery close by then take full advantage of it. Attend their Dhamma talks, attend their meditation sessions, attend their retreats. Become involved in the Buddhist community, make friends and find colleagues to practice with. This is part of becoming a member of the Sangha, one of the three Jewels of Buddhism.

From then on, your path will open up to you as your needs become more clear. Take advice from your new-found friends and your teachers. The path is long, but, as you will find, it is not a lonely path.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/13/why-theravada-buddhism-is-my-path/feed/01359Crossing the Floodhttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/11/crossing-the-flood/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/11/crossing-the-flood/#respondMon, 11 Sep 2017 11:20:00 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1300A short and simple Sutta is now provided that teaches gentleness in your practice. Do not stop during difficulty, but …

A short and simple Sutta is now provided that teaches gentleness in your practice. Do not stop during difficulty, but do not strain at the leash. Progress is made by steady effort only.

This is the Ogha­taraṇa­sutta, the Sutta appears in the Samyutta Nikaya, and in English it is called ‘Crossing the Flood’.

Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.1

The Connected Discourses with Devatas

Crossing the Flood

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devatā of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and said to him:

“How, dear sir, did you cross the flood?”

“By not halting, friend, and by not straining I crossed the flood.”

“But how is it, dear sir, that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?”

“When I came to a standstill, friend, then I sank; but when I struggled, then I got swept away. It is in this way, friend, that by not halting and by not straining I crossed the flood.”

The devatā:

“After a long time at last I see A brahmin who is fully quenched, Who by not halting, not straining, Has crossed over attachment to the world.”

This is what that devatā said. The Teacher approved. Then that devatā, thinking, “The Teacher has approved of me,” paid homage to the Blessed One and, keeping him on the right, disappeared right there.

]]>https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/11/crossing-the-flood/feed/01300Meditation on the Breath: or The Mindfulness of Breathinghttps://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/09/meditation-on-breath-mindfulness-of-breathing/ https://www.dhamma.uk/2017/09/09/meditation-on-breath-mindfulness-of-breathing/#respondSat, 09 Sep 2017 14:27:31 +0000https://www.dhamma.uk/?p=1275Meditation on the Breath, or The Mindfulness of Breathing is a main stay of Buddhist meditation. It can be used in so …

Meditation on the Breath, or The Mindfulness of Breathing is a main stay of Buddhist meditation. It can be used in so many ways. Your mind calms, your body relaxes and you come to know peace in a way that is not usual in the West.

Breath meditation can be used anywhere, while sitting watching the T.V., whilst walking to the shops, even whilst standing in the queue in the shop. Whenever you have a chance to pause and take time out, breath meditation can come to your aid, and calm you down. It really isn’t complicated at all, as the following instructions will show. Just 15 minutes or half an hour a day, when you can grab it, can make an enormous impact on you day-to-day wellbeing.

Meditation

Another thing with Breath Meditation, is you do not have to be a practicing Buddhist to benefit from it. It just happens to be a widely known Buddhist practice. You can be Christian, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu or agnostic. Breath Meditation will benefit your life by creating a sense of calm and peace that will aid you through life’s twists and turns. It will be a tool for you to use in those difficult times, and it is also a brilliant aid to restful sleep. If all you do is practice it just before you go to sleep, you will sleep deeper and better than you know.

So, to the practicalities of the method. They are few and simple. The Buddhist practice is generally to sit on the floor, with legs crossed and a straight back, but this is not essential to benefit from the practice. Personally I practice in whatever position I find myself in as the urge takes me. I could be lying on the floor in front of the T.V., I could be slouching on the sofa or I could be in bed ready for the Sandman to come. Like I said above, I could also be in the queue at Tesco’s waiting for the checkout, it really does not matter.

The first point to note is that you must be comfortable in yourself, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, you must be able to relax in that posture. Take a few deep breathes and ‘centre’ yourself i.e. prepare for the practice; in other words note the intent to practice. It’s like making a mental note: ‘I am now going to practice Breath Meditation’. Even in the checkout queue, you must be at ease and be reasonably able to shut out the noise of the surroundings. This can take a bit of practice but I am sure that after you have tried it once or twice, you will get the hang of it.

Having relaxed a little then centre your concentration on your breathing, just as it is naturally. Do not TRY to breath, there is no need for long breaths or short breaths. There is no need to count or force your breathing in any way. Just take note of your breathing how it is at this moment. If you feel the need to take a deep breath for some reason then do so, if you feel the need to change the pace of your breathing then do so. The fact that you are focusing on your breathing, no matter how you are breathing, is what matters.

You can focus on several areas whilst practising this meditation. When focusing on the breath you can focus on the tip of your nose and the feeling of the breath entering and exiting your nose; you can focus on the rise and fall of your chest or you can focus on the rise and fall of your stomach. The choice is yours and whatever makes the meditation easier for you is the way to go.

ADDENDUM: You will find that your mind will probably fill with all sorts of thoughts and concerns when you first begin this practice. Do not be concerned. Everybody goes through this. When you realise a thought has arisen, let it take its path then fade away, just as a leaf passes you by on a stream. Once the thought has gone, gently bring your concentration back to your breath and continue as before. Do not try to force your mind to be blank, this is not the idea. Beginners are often concerned that the ‘monkey mind’ will just not shut up, but only continual practice will achieve this. Never be concerned about the number of times your breath meditation is interrupted in this way. After all, it is a ‘practice’, and as the old adage goes, ‘practice makes perfect’.

Even just 5 minutes of this practice will reap rewards. 30 minutes to an hour a day will be far better, but it is much more beneficial to start small and build up gradually than it is to aim high and fail. Build your confidence and comfort with the practice gradually, and soon enough you will be a past master at Buddhist Breath Meditation.

A Rock cut Seated Buddha Statue at Bojjannakonda, Visakhapatnam District

I hope the above will be of benefit to those looking at starting their own meditation practice. It is a simple practice, but reaps far greater rewards than may be immediately clear. This practice has been a mainstay of Buddhist meditation for 2400 years so there must be something to it! As I have stated above, do not be concerned by the number of interruptions you experience. Even the most practiced and experienced meditator should admit that they suffer from the same problem, maybe not as much as you, but they do. So take a deep breath, centre yourself and focus on that breath. Let any thoughts drift by like feathers on the wind and keep bringing the mind back to your breath. You will reap many benefits.